Target.



H. G. PEPPER.

TARGET.

unmnmx rum) mums, 1903.

925,785. Patented June 22, 1909.

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UNITED STATES PATENT @FFTQE.

HARRY C. PEFFER, 01 EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS.

TARGET.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY C. Pnrran, a citizen of the United States, andresident of East St. Louis, St. Clair county, Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Targets, of which the followingis a specification containing a full, clear, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to a target constructed of frangible material andadapted to be thrown into the air by a target trap of ordinaryconstruction.

The object of my invention is to so shape and construct a target as thatwhen the same is thrown by the trap it will take an irregular curved orspiral path of travel, this flight or movement of the target closelysimulating the flight of a live bird, and offering to the marksman atarget which is much harder t6 hit than targets of the ordinaryconstruction, which generally travel in approximate arcs of circles, invertical planes.

My improved target is in the shape of an inverted truncated cone, or thefrustum of a cone; or a combination of cones with smooth or roughenedsurfaces; and is thrown from a trap in the ordinary manner, with theconcave side uppermost; and the target in flight tends to turn over orto arrive at such a posit-ion as that the convex side will rideuppermost, and in so doing the target describes an irregular spiralcurve, the direction of which is toward either the right or left hand,depending on the direction in which the throwing arm of the target trapmoves.

To the above purposes, my invention consists in certain novel featuresof construction and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter morefully set forth, pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a target of my improved construction; Fig. 2is a transverse section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1, with dottedlines showing variations of the angle 011 which the wall or outerportion of the target may be formed; Figs. 3, at, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and11, are transverse sections analogous to Fig. 2, and showing variousmodified forms of the target.

My improved target is constructed of hard- Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed March 13, 1908.

Patented June 22, 1909.

Serial No. 420,988.

ened plastic material, which is frangible, in order that it. willreadily l)1"ill\' when struck by shot, and said target is preferably inthe form of an inverted truncated cone, comprising the flat base 1, andthe inclined wall 2. The inclination or angle on which this wall 2 isformed relative the base 1 may be varied as desired, as shown by dottedlines in Fig. 2, in order to vary the air resistance against the underside of the wall 2 when the target in fl ght.

In Fig. 2 the base 1 and wall 2 are shown as being equal in thickness;and to vary the center of gravity of the target and to correspondinglyvary the flight thereof, the wall 2 may be made gradually thinner towardits outer edge, as shown in Fig. 3, or said wall may be made graduallythicker toward its outer edge, as shown in Fig, l; and to further varythe shape and change. the center of gravity in these forms of thetarget, the base 1 may be varied in thickness.

In Fig. 5 the target is shown as having an extra heavy or thick base 1and wall 9, the same being of equal thickness; and in Fig. 7, the wall 2is shown as having greater thickness than the base 1; and the reverse ofwhich construction is shown in F S.

In Fig. 6 dotted lines illustrate the manner in which the height of atarget may be varied, and which construction varies the area of theexterior surface of the wall 2.

In Fig. 9 I have shown a target provided with the wall 2, constructed ontwo angles, with the shorter angled surface adjacent the outer edge ofthe target; and which construction is reversed in the form of targetshown in Fig. 10.

In Fig. 11 I have shown the target in the form of an inverted frustum ofa cone, the wall of which is provided with a series of annularconcentric corrugations.

Targets of my improved construction may be thrown by an ordinary targettrap, and in leaving the carrier or throwing arm of the trap, saidtargets are rotated, and in such condition travel upward at an anglerelative the surface of the ground on which the trap is located.

The rotation of the target during its flight creates an air cushion onthe under side of the wall 2, on one side of the body of the target, anda corresponding partial vacuum on the under side of the opposite portionof the wall; and, as a result, the target gradually tips during itsflight, and this gradual tipping movement results in the targettraveling through an irregular curved or spiral path for a certaindistance, and at a certain point in the flight of the target the samewill become inverted and continue its travel or flight in a curved pathin an approximate horizontal plane, and at a different angle from theangle in which said target was projected or thrown from the trap.

Practical tests of targets constructed in accordance with my inventionhave proven that the irregular curved or tortuous paths of travelfollowed by said targets depend upon the angularity of the wall 2 andthe thickness thereof relative to the thickness of the base 1, all ofwhich conditions govern the center of gravity of the target.

The inclination of the walls or sides of the inverted truncated cone maybe varied as desired to produce difi'erent lines of flight of thetarget, and the thickness of the walls of the body of the target may beincreased or diminished at various points in order to change or modifythe line of flight, or the surface of the target may be corrugated orroughened; and, therefore, I do not desire to limit myself to any givenangle or thickness of the wall or base of the target.

Targets constructed as herein shown and described are, when in flight,much harder to hit than are targets traveling in arcs of circles invertical planes, and, therefore, much better practice is afforded, asthe marksman has no knowledge of the direction in which the target willtravel when thrown from the trap, as the path of travel is curvedrelative to both horizontal and vertical planes, and the direction ofthe curve being variable at the will of the operator of the trap.

I claim 1. As a new article of manufacture, a target constructed offrangible material and comprising a base portion and a circular wallintegral with said base, which wall is inclined relative to the planeoccupied by the base, and which target is thrown from the trap with thecircular wall uppermost.

A target constructed of frangible material and comprising asaucer-shaped body having a flat base, a circular wall integral withsaid base and which wall is inclined relative to the plane occupied bythe base, and which target is thrown from the trap with the circularwall uppermost.

3. A target constructed of frangible material and comprising asaucer-shaped body having a flat base, a circular wall integral withsaid base and which wall is inclined relative to the plane occupied bythe base, which target is thrown from the trap with the circular walluppermost, and the base and wall forming the body of the target be ingof different thicknesses.

e. A target comprising a saucer-shaped body formed of frangiblematerial, which body is provided with a flat base, a circular wallformed integral with the edge of the disk and which wall is inclinedrelative to the plane occupied by the base, and the thickness of thewall of said target varying at different points, and which target isthrown from the trap with the circular wall uppermost.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inpresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY C. PEFFER.

lVitnesses M. P. SMITH, E. L. VVALLAOE.

